Out of Christmas
by So then this happened
Summary: Jack is getting presents for his team. Set right before, during, and after Out of Time. Spoilers for the episode.
1. Chapter 1

A/N:

Currently this is just the first four chapters of Jack gathering the gifts. I will continue this further at some point. I'm really bad about posting so please take this as my apology for not finishing my other tales.  
Happy Happy and Merry Merry all.

* * *

Christmas was just around the corner and Jack was getting prepared.

For Owen, a picture of the enormous flower arrangement he had delivered to Katie's grave stone, a different one each year.

This year's was a stunning arrangement of calla lilies and laurels. Jack was quite besotted with it once the shop girl showed him the finished result. How he wished it was purchased for a happy occasion instead of the grim reminder that it was: Owen was forced into working for Torchwood simply to save his sanity. At least, Jack feared that was the real and honest reason the physician joined. Sure, Jack's speech about the good Owen could do to fight against aliens and save people from a similar fate as Katie was what the two men referenced if ever asked. Deep down though, Jack knew, even if he never said it aloud; Owen would have been driven mad with grief and confusion if left with the memories of what he saw long enough.

He couldn't let that be the only gift though, far too depressing. So, he added in the latest video games.

Video games and beer were never a staple of the hub. Until Owen Harper arrived. Until _Doctor_ Owen Harper arrived, and suddenly the fridge was always stocked with a beer or two and the computers all had some type of game installed. After a while, the beer seemed to have multiplied in the fridge. Shortly after that a console was brought in along with a first person shooting game. Jack, being the fun loving guy he is underneath all his...life experience, allowed it with the proviso that it could stay unless it interfered with work. Many reports delivered verbally while playing the games had convinced Jack it would never be a distraction for any of them.

After a rather rough, and frankly disgusting, day Owen unwound by diving right in to his game. It took one round of beer for Suzie to challenge Owen to a one-on-one match, two rounds before Tosh relaxed enough to give it a go herself, and all of about three seconds of watching his team bond before Jack decided to get an arcade style game installed in the hub. Besides, Jack quickly grew fond of the quaint electronic games and had more than enough boring late nights to warrant a bit of a distraction himself.

Jack placed the photo of the arrangement into a simple envelope and placed it with the video game in the bottom of his desk drawer, leaving it for now to be wrapped at later time.


	2. Chapter 2

Christmas crept closer and Jack was continuing his search for gifts.

For Tosh the gift had to be something special. His tech genius was an amazing person. She deserved a gift which reflected that. Nothing too intimate though. He didn't think she would appreciate any lingerie or adult toys being gifted to her by her boss. Silly 21st century notions about propriety. He wracked his brain for ideas.

Last year he got her the latest laptop. She loved it, but Jack felt it wasn't really a great gift to come from him. Presents should be representative of the person giving them and Jack wasn't exactly into the quaint technology of the 21st century.

The year before that he had given her an advanced copy of a UNIT report broaching a new theory on time travel. Jack had found it amusing having been taught the fundamentals of the science of quantum mechanics when he was much younger. He knew though that this report, and others like it, eventually led to the human race cracking the concept. It took quite a bit of skill to obtain the copy but it was worth it to see Tosh's face when she opened it and began pouring over the document almost immediately. Again, it didn't really seem like a gift he would give. So this year had to be different.

This year it had to be something special. He had a passing thought of giving her a necklace, but then that whole thing with Mary happened and Jack figured Tosh would never want to be gifted a pendant ever again. He decided to extend the thought to all jewelry just to be on the safe side. So when he saw the gift in the shop window he immediately knew he had to get it for her.

It was perfect. A beautiful purple coat. It hung on the mannequin poorly but he had enough experience looking at women in various states of dress to consider himself an expert in the field, and he knew the garment would look positively lovely on Tosh. It was perfect for the small Japanese woman. He couldn't wait to see her try it on.

He would need to see her open this in person.


	3. Chapter 3

The days progressed ever forward toward Christmas.

Gift for Owen? Check. Gift for Tosh? Check.

For Gwen, that was tricky.

Anything too intimate and he might upset her boyfriend, but anything too platonic and it just wouldn't seem right either. It was her first Christmas with them and so Jack wanted to give her something. He felt a unique relationship developing between them and he wanted to get her something special. For the life of him, no pun intended, he could not think of what to get her.

For a while he contemplated perfume. Once particular scent kept creeping to the front of his mind, the kind a previous lover of his used to wear. The sense memory brought delightful images along with any whiff of the fragrance he got, but eventually this seemed to fall under the "too intimate" category.

He could get her a coat as well, but then it felt as though it would diminish the meaning of Tosh's gift and that didn't seem right.

When he thought about Gwen, he thought about how much she cared about everyone and loved her boyfriend. He wanted to make sure she didn't lose that connection to the outside. He decided to get her a weekend away in Paris for her and her boyfriend. Patting himself on the back for his wonderful idea he made all the arrangements and wrote up the details on some of his older stationary. She would be able to take the holiday whenever she wanted. All she had to do was drop Jack's name with the hotel and she would be taken care of.

Barring any critical Torchwood emergencies, naturally.

This was a gift he was very happy about, and hoped the recipient would enjoy. Oh, and her boyfriend as well.


	4. Chapter 4

Ten days before Christmas and Jack had one last gift to sort out.

For Ianto. Ah, his dear Ianto. He wanted to give him something meaningful. Something that showed the young man he was more to Jack than just the tea-boy. Because, he honestly was. It couldn't be too intimate either though or Ianto might think he meant a lot more. Which he wasn't. Not right now anyway. Not yet at least.

He didn't want to get him a gift that was strictly boss to employee either. That was what the tie was last year. A pathetic gift in comparison to the gifts he got the rest of the team to be sure, but money didn't mean much to Jack, it was the sentiment behind the gift that mattered to him. However, every time Jack saw Ianto wearing that tie his coffee seemed to taste sweeter and the paperwork seemed to fill itself out. Ianto, would seem to have spring in his step too.

He did already have a tie for the younger man, one he had picked out weeks ago. Picked out and wrapped too. He couldn't resist. It was a beautiful rich color. He wrapped it early since he knew Ianto was far too good at finding anything hidden. It didn't matter that Ianto would find the wrapped gift; the young man wouldn't want to ruin his own surprise by opening it.

Smiling at the image of Ianto sneaking a peek at an early Christmas gift, Jack shoved his hands into his pockets and began to pace in front of his desk. He could always buy the young man a suit. He gave the thought all of about two seconds before discarding it. He pondered getting Ianto some silk boxers, but Jack preferred nakedness to any sort of silk boxer or lingerie.

He made a turn around his office again, thoroughly frustrated with himself now. He racked his brain gaining another idea. He could get him a new stun gun.

Seriously? A new stun gun? He rolled his eyes at himself and went over all the other pathetic gifts he could give in quick succession: Torchwood engraved travel mug, new slop bucket for feeding the weevils, new serving tray for the coffees.

Sighing heavily and sitting on the edge of his desk, Jack shifted his hands inside his pockets.

His hand brushed against a familiar object in his pocket and the idea came to Jack like a bolt of lightening. It was perfect. It did hold a special meaning for them after all, and it only seemed fitting for Ianto to have it in the first place. Smiling, to himself he let all his worries about the holiday melt away.

Then the rift alert went off.


End file.
